Findings from bTB dissertation research

Jacquetta Whyatt WattsChelsea HaywardCamilla Shipley

Farmers’ attitudes towards badger vaccination in South Wales

Jacquetta Whyatt Watts BSc (Hons) Rural land

Management

Aims and Objectives of project

Aim: To assess farmers’ attitudes towards the governments’ on-going scheme to vaccinate badgers in South Wales  Objectives :

1. To explore farmers’ current attitudes towards disease controls for bTB and in particular the Welsh Assembly Government’s badger vaccination scheme.

2. To establish the factors which influence farmers’ attitudes towards bTB disease control.

3. To explore farmers’ attitudes towards bTB policy with specific reference to Welsh policy.

4. To explore if attitudes vary dependent on the farmers’ circumstances i.e.; size of farm, experience with the disease, and understanding of the government’s current proposals.

Methodology • 19 in-depth, semi structured,

qualitative face to face interviews with cattle farmers

• Snowball sampling

• Dyfed, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire (South Wales)

• A thorough thematic analysis was undertaken using Nvivo

Key Findings:

Farmers’ knowledge of bTB and badger vaccination in particular. ‘Know the basic concepts of vaccinating badgers’.

‘I’m not familiar with it other than in the most general terms‘.

Perceptions regarding badgers and their impact on bTB in cattle. ‘Yes I believe that there is a link between badgers and TB in cattle, I think this from discussions with my vet or the AHVLA officials’.

‘I believe that there is a link between badgers and bTB in cattle however, the biggest problem is the spread from badgers to cattle ‘ .

Attitudes towards vaccination.Badger vaccination

‘Vaccination is fine in animals which are farmed or kept as pets but not in wild populations it’s just not realistic’ .

‘I think it is ineffective, hugely expensive and a huge waste of public money’ .

‘If farmers are expected to pay they should be allowed to deal with the badgers on their own land’.

Cattle vaccination

‘If there is a disease and a vaccine then why not? We’re never going to become TB free whilst we are unable to control the wildlife freely’ .

‘It would be expensive, and does not address the problem within the badger community’ .

Who farmers blame for bTB.

‘I am concerned about badgers in the area because badgers are TB carriers; I feel I am waiting for TB to affect us again’ .

‘I just believe that it is morally wrong to kill one animal that carries bTB and not the other, nobody has explained the reason for that’ .

‘Bad bTB management has got us to the position we are in now’.

Confidence in policy

‘There was better management of the disease in the past when there was less public opinion on the topic’ .

‘ The government retracted the cull of badgers which had been planned for 3/4 years, if it had gone ahead when it was planned and not taken so long we would know by now if it was effective’.

Key conclusions

• Farmers were not confident in badger vaccination as an effective method to control and reduce bTB.

• Confidence in oral badger vaccination and cattle vaccination was also low.

• The most supported method was badger culling

• Farmers held both badgers and the government liable for the negative impacts of bTB.

• There was a consensus that current policy in Wales does not match farmers opinions.

An assessment of farmers’ perspectives of a risk-based trading mechanism as a control method of

Bovine Tuberculosis

Chelsea HaywardBSc (Hons) Rural land

Management

ObjectivesAim- To explore farmer’s opinions on a risk based trading model as a method of controlling Bovine Tuberculosis

Objective 1- To define risk-based trading and explore how it has been used in other contexts

Objective 2- To identify farmers’ views towards a risk-based trading model and identify whether a voluntary scheme of this type would be supported by farmers

Objective 3- To identify whether farmers’ biosecurity/ husbandry practices would change as a result of a risk based trading model being implemented

Objective 4- To identify whether the rating of cattle as a result of a risk-based trading mechanism would impact on farmers’ perceptions of value

Methodology

• 93 short face-to-face quantitative surveys undertaken at 2 cattle markets

• Ashford- Kent (Low risk area of TB)

• Shaftesbury- Dorset (High risk area of TB)

• Analysed using SPSS

• Participant summary:

38 Low risk area

20 Edge area

35 High risk area

“If it became possible for me to display my herd’s TB history in the ring and on reports at markets I would voluntarily take part”

• 64.5% of participants strongly agreed or agreed with the statement

• Pedigree farmers agreed more strongly with the statement than non pedigree farmers

• Out of the 15 people who strongly agreed with the statement 10 people also agreed that if risk based trading existed they would take extra on farm biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of their herd getting TB.

• Farmers from the Low Risk Area agreed more strongly with voluntary participation in risk-based trading than those from the Edge and High Risk Areas.

“If the number of years my herd has been infected with TB was displayed at market I would take extra biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of my herd getting TB.”

• Half (50.5%) of farmers either strongly agreed or agreed with this statement.

• People who isolate newly purchased cattle were slightly

more positive towards voluntary risk-based trading than those who do not.

• 42 respondents (45%) stated that they already isolate newly purchased animals

Perceptions of value• People who see TB history as important when assessing

the value of an animal would pay slightly more of a premium than those who see it as unimportant

• There were no significant differences found between farmers from High and Low Risk Areas and the premium they would pay for an animal if they knew its TB history.

• Pedigree and part pedigree farmers were found to be likely to pay slightly more of a premium for an animal they knew the TB history of than non pedigree farmers.

Key conclusions• Farmers were generally positive towards the

introduction of a risk-based trading scheme

• The majority of surveyed farmers would take part in the risk-based trading scheme

• On farm biosecurity might improve as a direct result of the introduction of risk based trading

• Not all farmers agree with voluntary participation of risk based trading

• Farmers perceptions of value might change as a result of risk based trading which might influence the cattle trading industry

An evaluation of farmers’ opinions of bTB control in the in the Edge and

Low Risk Areas.

Camilla ShipleyBSc (Hons) Rural land Management

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Objectives

1. To explore the importance to farmers of stopping the spread of bTB;

2. To establish what farmers think would be the most and least effective control strategies which could be put in place to control the spread of the disease;

3. To establish if farmers are doing anything to reduce their risk of a herd breakdown and, if so, what measures they are taking and whether this is as a result of the new strategy.

4. To explore if farmers think there is anything missing from the strategy.

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20

Focus Area• The area of focus

was the East Midlands.

• Survey data were collected from two markets in the Edge Area and a market and a fat stock market in the Low Risk Area.

• Markets were used as a convenient way of gathering information from a large number of farmers at one time.

Methodology

Quantitative data collected through 75 face-to-face surveys at cattle markets.

Survey used Likert Scales, some ranking and some simple tick box questions

44 Low Risk Area farmers 31 Edge Area farmers

The data was not quite representative of the differentlivestock sectors; within the sample only 5% were dairyfarmers whereas in the region 13% of livestock farmers are dairy farmers.

92% of respondents claim to never have had a bTB breakdown

Results

Level of concern about the spread of the disease.

Farmers in the Edge Area felt they were at more risk than those in the Low Risk Area.

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Not Concerned

at all

Slightly Concerne

d

Concerned

Very Concerne

d

0% 21% 39% 40%

Objective Mean ranking

Mode rankin

g

Overall rank

Stop the Geographical Spread

1.9 1 1

Eradicate the Disease 2.4 1 2

Reduce Incident Rates 2.8 3 3

Reverse the Spread 3 4 4

Stopping the geographical spread of the disease was the most important objective to farmers in both

areas, this supports the policy in place.

67% of farmers had heard about the Risk Based Strategy.

67% of farmers had heard about the Edge Area Strategy.These figures suggest that a third of farmers are not gettinginformation regarding the strategies, which may limit theirsuccess.

65% of farmers questioned in the Edge Area felt there wasenough information about the strategy . Only 32% in the Low RiskArea felt there was enough information about the strategy. No correlation was found between farmers who thought there was not enough information and their likelihood to attend advice meetings. Showing they are not proactive at finding out information.

Of the 56% of farmers questioned who knew about theconsultation on the Risk Based Strategy, only 55% felt they wereable to give their opinion.

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Communication

Controlling bTB in none bovine species was selected as the most effective method for controlling the disease.

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Badgers

Control Method Mean Mode

Ranking

Tackling bTB is none bovine Species

2.91 1 1

Local Eradication Boards 3.89 4 2

Control Cattle Movements 3.96 7 3

More Rigorous Testing 4.16 7 4

Enhanced on-farm Biosecurity 4.21 5 5

Risk Based Trading 4.29 3 6

Improved Advice to Farmers 4.59 6 7

BiosecurityWhen asked about what biosecurity measures the farmers hadin place a lack of consistency was highlighted.

Most farmers carried out only one or two biosecurity measures,and these measures were different from each other. Biosecuritymeasures relating to badgers had the least number of farmerscarrying them out.

Improved Advice to Farmers

Biosecurity Method % of farmers who had

implemented the measure

Isolation of New Cattle to the Herd 59

Finding out about the Disease History of Cattle before Purchasing

53

Disinfecting Livestock Housing 51

Minimise Contact with Neighbouring Animals 44

Wildlife Proofing Feed Troughs, Yard Areas, etc 25

Maintain a Closed Herd 23

Voluntary bTB testing of Animal Brought onto the Farm

20

Fencing Areas Known for Badger Activity 11

When asked if compensation should be linked to biosecuritythere was a mixed response:

There was no significant difference between the two designated areas and the biosecurity measures they carried out.

Not at all Partly Linked

Completely Linked

31% 48% 21%

Key Conclusions

Farmers in the Edge and Low Risk Areas are “very concerned” about bTB.

Communication was highlighted as a potential issue restricting the effectiveness of the strategies.

There is confidence in the control methods being put in place.However, farmers appeared to be focused on badgers and their control.

There is a lack of consistency between farms as to their biosecurity measures